. i was very supportive of both president bush andpresidentobamainafghanistan, mainly because of the hope we can turn around what happens to women. we have the same problem we had in vietnam. when you're working with a corrupt government, people can't work to save themselves, you can't save them no matter what. we need to get out. >> the fight against al qaeda continues not only in afghanistan, but increasingly in north africa. the "washington post" is reporting the white house has held secret meetings to examine the terror group in the region. the al qaeda affiliate there is believed to have gained a large amount of weapons after the revolution in libya. and according to "the post," the white house meetings predate the attacks on the u.s. compound in libya and have included possible strikes against targets in north africa. i think it'll be interesting to hear how these issues are played out in one of the debates, which i believe is focused on foreign policy. i just want the candidates to be asked about this. >> there's also, mika, a front page in the "new york times" that eve

's actually related -- >> no, it's not. >>presidentobamaleadsromney by 10 percentage points in ohio. no republican has lost and then won the presidency. the president is up nine points in florida and has opened up a 12-point lead in pennsylvania. in the same poll, president obama leads mitt romney in his handling of the economy in all three states. 51% of polled voters say the president would do the better job. >> okay, let's go back to the last slide, guys. and mark halperin, let's talk to you. i know you agree with me that the media is liberal. guess what? republicans have somehow managed to win despite that media liberal bias. you've said it repeatedly on this show. so despite that fact, mitt romney is not getting crushed in all three of these states because of the liberal media bias. what's happening there, and why is he losing so badly, especially in ohio? >> well, it's very unlikely the president will win those states by those margins, but these numbers are not out of line dramatically with private polling and some other public polling. i think the biggest problem right now re

,presidentobamaleadsmitt romney in his ndlif e ecomy ill estat. 51% of polled voters say the president would do the better job. >> okay, let's go back to the last slide, guys. and mark halperin, let's talk to you. i know you agree with me that the media is liberal. guess what? republicans have someh managed to win dpitehat a raas you've said it repeatedly on this show. so despite that fact, mitt romney is not getting crushed in all three of these states because of the liberal media bias. what's hapning the, and why is he lingoba especially in oh? >> well, it's very unlikely the president will win those states by those margins, but these numbers are not out of line dramatically with private polling and some other public polling. i think the biggest problem rit now remains him. he's not driving asient mee. the president does -- says something, the republicans get all excited about it. they treat it like a gaffe. they'll talk about it for a day. and then they'll move on to something else. the biggest danger to me right now for the republican party are two things. one is that you look athe

thattheobamaforeignpolicy is unraveling literally before our eyes on our tv screens. >> i think it interferes with the depiction that the administration is trying to convey, that al qaeda is on the wane, that everything's fine in the middle east. >> you think it's political? >> i think there are certain political overtones. how else could you trot out our u.n. ambassador to say it was spontaneous? >> maybe it was. >> five days later? that doesn't pass the smell test. it was ever ignorance or willful intelligence. >> whether you agree with him or not, senator mccain has the credibility, a war hero, with great experience in washington dealing with foreign policy, how do you think, though, paul ryan did with that? is that turning the page? did that ring true? does that ring as credible saying president obama's foreign policy is unraveling? did that work? >> there is a time and a place for everything. the day after an ambassador's death is not the time to rush out and hold a press conference in america. and by the way, i said the same thing. well, i thought democrats were shameless during the ira